Longitudinal population studies strategic prioritisation exercise

Open UKRI funding opportunity · Other. Closes 2026-11-17. Opportunity page: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/longitudinal-population-studies-strategic-prioritisation-exercise/

Submit information about your longitudinal population study (LPS) to help Medical Research Council (MRC) plan for future investments in LPS infrastructure.

This opportunity is part of a strategic prioritisation exercise (SPE) that will not lead directly to funding but will shape MRC plans. The SPE covers 10 years, nominally 2029 to 2039.

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for MRC funding. Your LPS must have a primary focus on enabling biomedical research.

What we're looking for Aim

We are running this SPE to gather information on biomedical LPS in order to prioritise options for MRC investment in LPS and to inform the design of future funding opportunities. We intend to support both biomedical LPS and associated services as UK infrastructure(s) that enable research into health and disease by a range of users.

Biomedical LPS are studies that focus on enabling broad biomedical research and that follow a defined population of participants over time and collect longitudinal data and samples. LPS are sometimes referred to as population cohorts. The LPS population may be defined by, for example, life stage, geography or occupation. LPS typically recruit healthy participants. LPS may be focused on the risk of disease but do not include clinical cohorts.

Biomedical LPS based in the UK or supported by UK funding are invited to provide a submission if they wish to be considered for future MRC support. This includes biomedical LPS based overseas if previously supported by MRC. All LPS should explain in their submissions how they enable world-class research that benefits UK science and the UK public, and why MRC support is necessary.

Submissions to the SPE will not result in direct funding. The nature of future funding and support arrangements remains under development and…